Julie Walters: I was 'derailed' by fame

Julie Walters admits she was once "derailed" by fame and thought she was the best in the business

The 'Mamma Mia' star admits there was a time when she felt as though she was the "best thing since sliced bread" and thought anyone who didn't employ her wasn't worth bothering with.

She said: "Looking back, fame derailed me a bit. It was a surprise when people would come up to me and say, "Ooh, aren't you in that film?" In my ignorance, I mistook that for someone saying I was a marvellous actor. Of course they weren't. They were just gawping.

"But at the time, I just embraced it. I had this huge superiority complex. For years I thought I was the best thing since sliced bread, and if somebody didn't employ me, then they weren't worth working for. That's gradually been chipped away."

When she was younger, the 66-year-old actress worked in nursing for a year and a half and feels it "opened her eyes to suffering and death".

She shared to The Times magazine: "Working as a nurse opened my eyes to suffering and death. You can have this compassion mixed with love for somebody you don't know at all.

"I remember thinking, 'This is somebody's child,' or, 'This could be my dad.' People might imagine I'm a bit dotty, but I'm not the sort of person who is fazed by somebody collapsing or getting ill. When I make a bed with a flat sheet, I still do the same proper corners."